Page 73 of Off The Ice

“Fine,” she said with more of a bite than I hoped, but still, I felt the acceptance behind it.

“So, are we good?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t hold this against me, not after we’d already made amends.

“I suppose.” She heaved a dramatic sigh but then rolled her eyes in a way that told me I’d been forgiven.

I exhaled in relief, glad to have mended one of the only two familial relationships I still had in my life.

“I really am sorry, you know,” I said. “That I’ve been so closed off. It’s nothing personal.”

“That’s just you.” She shrugged as if it was something she’d accepted long ago. “But I really appreciate the effort you’ve been making lately. I mean, letting Cassie move in has been so huge, and I know you did it for me, so it means a lot.”

“No problem,” I responded, suddenly tense but trying to shrug it off.

I didn’t know why the topic had me squirming. It wasn’t like I had anything to hide. But Maggie had a sixth sense for detecting bullshit, and I didn’t want her examining me too closely right now.

“But it doesn’t seem like you mind hertoomuch, right?” she asked, hope glimmering in her eyes.

“No,” I said. “I don’t mind her.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cassie

“You’re going to stick out like a sore thumb, you know.” Maggie laughed, looking over at me as we walked into TD Garden.

“Why?” I asked, dumbstruck, looking down at myself. I had on an oversized pink, cream, and lavender Nordic-style sweater with a cute snowflake print that I thought was fitting for an ice rink. Plus, a matching pink scarf and lavender beanie to stay warm during the game. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Most people wear sports jerseys or team merch, or at the very least their teamcolors.You, on the other hand, look like a human ice cream cone.”

“At least I won’t be as cold as one,” I said, wiggling my mittened hands at her.

“Are those really necessary?”

“Hey, I have an iron deficiency, meaning I’malwayscold.”

“Suit yourself.” Maggie momentarily held her hands up in surrender, but when we got through security, I could see what she meant.

The crowd was a sea of blue and gray jerseys, all very aware that they were here to proudly display which team held their allegiance.

“It’s not like I have any Harbor Wolves merch lying around,” I said, flushing.

That was a lie, though, wasn’t it? I had Liam’s hoodie still. The one I wore nearly every night to bed and around the house only when Liam wasn’t home. But wearing it out, in public—that was very different. Especially when Liam might see. He would probably think I was some stalker if he knew how often I wore his sweatshirt. The one that still seemed to carry the smell of him on it—

“It’s not a big deal,” Maggie shrugged. “You look cute. And at least we know Liam will be able to spot us from a mile away now.”

I was glad I had my scarf to hide underneath.

When Maggie led us to seats right in front of the glass, I gasped.

“We’re so close!” I started to sit, flinching as a hockey player zoomed by, the sound of the ice crunching beneath his skates.

“What did you think? Liam would send us to the nosebleeds?”

“Are we going to be safe here?” I cringed, shrinking away each time the players zoomed past. It was like I could feel the vibrations radiating through the glass as they passed. “What if a puck breaks through the glass or something

“Oh my gosh.” Maggie gasped. “You’re right! We need to alert the NHL immediately because I’m certain they never considered that possibility!”

Then she grinned, a sarcastic smirk replacing the look of horror she’d just worn.

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